I
started ELC Audio Engineering while a graduate student at
the University of Arizona (UA). Because I was designing
and building research and clinical equipment for the UA (in
addition to government agencies, private industry, and
hospitals), I needed a way to 1) get paid for my work
and 2) ensure intellectual property protection. Creating
a business / business name provided both of these.

E, L, and C are my
initials (Eric L. Carmichel*). ELC is shown
schematically in the company's logo (E for electromotive
force, L being the usual designator for
inductors, and C for capacitance). My slogan was
“Engineering for Better Hearing,” but “When Overkill
Isn’t Enough” became the unofficial slogan. (One piece
of equipment designed for the USAF had the unofficial
slogan tied to it.) *Note: Yes, Carmichel, not Carmichael, is
the correct spelling of my last name.While pursuing my MS degree, I worked as a contract
employee for the McCulloch Corp. It wasn't too long
before I was given the
title Vice President of Electrical Engineering.
Unfortunately, this was a short-lived title because McCulloch changed ownership in
1999: The McCulloch name was purchased by the Jenn Feng
Industrial Co., Ltd. (Taiwan). Instead of becoming a
full-time employee under McCulloch's new ownership, I continued my consulting business, and
serendipitous events led to one US patent, development
of a clinical device (ultimately sold to PENTAX Medical
Company), several magazine
articles, being hired twice as an expert witness, and a
plethora of ideas. The ideas never stop...My interest in hearing science and communication
disorders continued well beyond my graduate studies.
While exploring cochlear implants (and developing a new
processor strategy with an integrated LCP electrode array), I recognized that many studies
regarding hearing in noise could benefit from the use of periphonic sound systems and appropriate, real-world stimuli. As
hearing aid (HA) and cochlear implant (CI) technology
advances, more sophisticated methods of testing will be
needed to demonstrate the purported improvements in HA
and CI design. Studies are now underway to show in an
objective, scientifically-valid manner the benefits of
binaural implantation and hybrid (bimodal) hearing
devices.Implementing a periphonic sound system for improving the
external validity of hearing research is no easy
task--as an example, take a look at Oticon’s impressive
surround system (click The Hearing Journal
for access to photos and article). Constructing such a
system isn’t practical for the majority of hearing
researchers, so I set forth to find the recording and
playback methods that would best serve the research
community. To focus on this endeavor, I created a
separate business and named it
Cochlear Concepts. I am
also exploring studio recording and live sound
engineering, and am working with a few of the top names
in these related industries.